Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, this is an alternate universe fan fiction, in which I have used the characters, places and story from the BBC TV show which I do not own.

A/N: Aura Corpuz thank you for that - it has made my day which is why I have decided to post the next chapter today instead of waiting till the weekend! This chapter is much longer... but it took ages to type up and edit. Those people who have written long stories, I salute you! , I don't know what I would do without you! Thank you :)

No-One Knew

~ARTHUR~

Arthur woke early at dawn one morning next to his still sleeping wife. Camelot was happy. Every thing was well: the trade was stable; the crops were flourishing; there was no debt; and there was no quarrel between the kingdoms, no threats. Therefore Arthur was happy. It was a great day, the sun was shining. The best of all, he didn't need to be King today. He decided to take Gwen for a ride in the forest and then a picnic- yes, it will be a great day.

Until he realised that today was the council meeting. His heart sank horribly. And he had that speech to write! He had forgotten about that! Merlin would have already had it ready for him to memorise...

You could say that he woke up on the wrong side of the (table - ha ha very funny Merlin, now shut up) bed, he would be in a depressed mood all day. The council meetings were extremely boring, he really did prefer the round table meetings, and now he was King... it was worse when he had to remember to pay attention and not to fall asleep. His current manservant wasn't as handy as to give him a subtle nudge when he was in danger of dropping off. Ah, the perks of Merlin.

So when the King stormed into the council meeting, the court advisors and the knights didn't dare let one hint of their thoughts show on their faces, in fear of Arthur's wraith. Many hours of muffled yawning, arguments and a thoroughly irritated Arthur later, when the meeting was just about to come to an end, some of the guards burst through with three struggling hooded figures.

Arthur gave an exasperated sigh. He was not in the mood for this right now. He indicated for one of the guards to explain, not bothering to stand up from his seat at the head of the table.

"Sire, there druids were found in the lower town with a few weeks worth of supplies for a entire druid camp."

Arthur really didn't want to deal with this right now. He put his head in his hands, closing his eyes, oblivious to the tension in the room. A few moments later, he looked up with a calm, composed face.

"Did they steal the supplies?"

"No, my lord."

"Did they use magic for their own gain?"

"No, my lord."

"Did they, in any way, endanger, or cause harm to any of the citizens of Camelot?"

"No, my lord...but they are druids, they bear the mark, sire."

Arthur took a few more moments to compose himself, and stood up, voice full of authority, now addressing the whole court.

"Now I want to make this very clear: In My kingdom, no-one is punished without a justified crime; under MY rule, I will not tolerate discrimination, especially of a peaceful people like the druids. Yes, under my laws, magic is banned, and for good reason. Magic has corrupted many people who's hearts were once good. People harness the power of magic to do evil. In Camelot, the punishment fits the crime, and being who you are is no crime. Let them go. Make sure all of their supplies are returned to them, and give them some more from the palace stores to repay for their inconvenience, I hope that this will make it up to you."

"Thank you, my lord, if we may take our leave..."

They seem eager to go. Of course they are, they must be terrified.

"Of course, Gaius, if you could escort them out?"

"Yes, sire." Gaius nodded, looking at him with a smile, and wearing pride on his face. Arthur nodded at him, looking upon the druids properly for the first time.

The one who had spoken to him was the eldest, probably in his fifties. He looked extremely shocked at Arthur. Arthur winced internally - he must have seen the Great Purge, God only knows how many of his family and friends he had watched die by the Pendragon hand. Then there was the younger man with surprise and confusion on his face. A bit like Merlin actually, even the age...he must have been fed stories about how evil the Camelot royalty were, to have slaughtered so many innocent of any crime, infants and elderly alike, since he could talk. The last was a young girl, so young and innocent, looking the most scarred. Who wouldn't have been at that age, having guards thrice the size of you seize you and drag you off.

"Wait!" he just realised as they turned to the door. As they turned back to the King, he could see the fear ignite in all of their eyes. He was quick to reassure them: "Are any of you hurt?" It looks like the little girl was about to speak when he noticed the elder's grip on her tightened. "Hey, you there, what is you name?" he asked her as gentle as possible.

"Lena." she whispered back clearly horrified.

"Lena, are you injured? Don't worry, you have no reason to fear me." he said with a smile.

She was still quite petrified as she revealed the wound on her arm.

That must have been hurting her badly all this time - no question it was caused by one of the guards dragging her through Camelot.

"I'm sorry...Gaius could you..." he gestured at her, receiving an affirmative from him.

The whole court watched in silence as they left and the doors closed. He didn't even have time to collapse dramatically onto his chair before the protests started:

"I have no intention of offending you, my lord..."

"Are you sure that is the best course of action, your majesty..."

"My lord, you father would not..."

"Perhaps we ought to discuss..."

"Sire, you..."

"My lord..."

"Sire,"

"My l-"

"ENOUGH!" Arthur slammed his hands on the table.

Silence

"I am your King and I am not my father!" with that he stormed out.

Merlin would have thought of a remark to calm me down by now, and he would probably be bubbling with pride.

He reached his chambers where he met with a startled Gwen.

"Arthur?" she questioned at his satisfied smirk.

"Gwenevere - we are going for a picnic."

A/N: I have considered many new titles, and I thinks I like something along the lines of A Friend in the Shadow, or A Friend Unknown...I definitely want the word friend in there, because, Merlin is, first and foremost, a true friend. Thank you for reading - over 1000 views!